 |  | Try harder next time..... |  |
Of the 4 stories in "Different Seasons" this should have easily made the best and most disturbing movie (Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me were the other novella-to-movie adaptations from this book - that should demonstrate how great the book was). However this movie falls far short of expectations. Between pitiful acting, poor direction and a horrible screenwriting adaptation it is hard to tell where this went so wrong but a combination of all those factors doom this from the start. Ian McKellan wrangles as much from the script as possible, but Renfro never fails to bring down every scene he's in. Fans of the written story wanting to see the film version will feel cheated. Those experiencing only the film version will never know how deeply disturbing the written story was. And that should be considered a crime.
December 13, 2008I loved Stephen King's Different Seasons, except for one thing. I always thought that the story APT PUPIL was about fifty pages too long. The film version takes care of this concern, distilling PUPIL down to it's basic elements: old evil passing itself on to a young, all too eager student. Ian McKellen (yep, Gandolf himself!) is perfectly, quietly malevolent as the ancient nazi war criminal, hiding out in suburbia. Brad Renfro plays Todd Bowden, the normal-looking high school kid, concealing a darkness that appears to be insatiable and without limits. Todd fools his family, friends, and guidance counselor (David Schwimmer), into believing he is just another highly gifted teenager. In reality, he is a sociopathic wretch, coasting along by gaining the misplaced trust of others. Studying the holocaust in history class brings out Todd's blackened interior, causing him to hunt down and ensnare McKellen's character. What follows is a study of twisted evil in the midst of apparent normalcy. Todd and his "teacher" develop a seemingly symbiotic relationship that is in actuality purely parasitic. They are destroying each others souls. APT PUPIL's horror lies in it's use of demonic evil in broad daylight. Most of the movie is played out in the sunny afternoon. Evil doesn't wait for nightfall. It hides in plain sight, looking clean-cut and well-adjusted...
April 10, 2008 | | In memorance of Brad Renfro | |
The death of Brad Renfro shocked me. I watched this and other films by him, but by far this is a remendous achievement and it's a shame he didn't get the press or attention other celebrities get when they pass on. His role in this film demonstrates his tremendous acting ability, although it wasn't realized by the powers that be in Hollywood.
I'll miss him, but I have his films to keep his memory fresh in my mind.
January 25, 2008 | | Well done, but could have been better | |
This movie is from a short story by Steven King. The book was better, but, the actors in this film were sincere. Brad Renfro was perfect as the smart, successful, spoiled only child of upper middle class parents. Sir Ian was a good choice as the elderly, but still dangerous, ex-nazi officer that Brad gets obsessed with. Making the miserable man re-live his experiences as a murder of innocents, because the boy threatens to turn him in to Israeli officials. The ending should not have strayed too far from the actual story ending, almost as if the movie set had to close down within 10 minutes or they'd be charged an extra fee, it seemed rushed for no reason. Enjoy!
January 16, 2008 | | I was a little disappointed | |
With the ending of this the first time I saw it after I checked it out at the library because there was a song by the heavy metal band Anthrax that kept more to the original story from Stephen King where he told the ending of how it too something like 6 hours for the authorities to bring the kid prodigy of this Dusannder (Nazi War Criminal) down with thier weapons of mass destruction in a harrowing shoot and chase sequence that was in the short story of the book Different Seasons by King. The movie ending was entirely different but about 3/4 of it follows the story like but I saw an interview with Brian Singer the director on the tv show The Directors and he said that he toned it down because he's Jewish and is still fasinated by the whole idea of 'Nazi-ism' just as a study point, kind of an odd thing for a jewish person to say but I can sort of see his point to an extent.
It makes you wonder why George W.anker Bush one dictator killed in Iraq and supports or props up another one in Pervez Musharrif of Pakistan?
email: laughingpig1@yahoo.com
November 20, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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